Epicurean Paradox

[Drich]

Anyone else find it very interesting that the dictionary is invoked and quoted to death in order to define malicious intent (inaccurately at that), yet we come to the word "Evil" and Oh No! You can't use a DICTIONARY, you have to use the BIBLE.

Cretinous misdirection.

Let's try and get this one back on track. Drich wants the dictionary to be the correct point of reference for the argument.

e·vil   [ee-vuhl]
adjective
1.morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked: evil deeds; an evil life.
2.harmful; injurious: evil laws.
3.characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering; unfortunate; disastrous: to be fallen on evil days.
4.due to actual or imputed bad conduct or character: an evil reputation.
5.marked by anger, irritability, irascibility, etc.: He is known for his evil disposition.

Instead we get special pleading that Evil = Malicious Intent against God and suddenly we are allegedly not allowed to use the dictionary anymore.

I think in order for this conversation not to get silly, The theist has to argue against Epicurus in the manner that Evil is intended or simply admit that the "Dictionary" definition of Evil means that Epicurus is true.

Why do we use God's interpretation of Evil rather that the pop cultures understanding of the word? Because it is God's actions (or lack of) that are being questioned in relation to Evil. If God is being judged against a standard then we must establish Who God is, against the very same standard in which He is being Judged. If we are speaking of the God of the bible then it is to the biblical standard in which we are to also judge evil. That is unless you feel you need to stack the deck in your favor to judge God unfairly in order to win your conviction. A fair assessment would indeed single source (as there is only one source that defines the God of the bible) information of God and sin/evil, inorder to make a sound judgment.

otherwise it would be like asking who were the better soldiers? the 300 of Sparta or a current active duty seal team, simply by judging the effective usage of their weapons. If one wants an accurate assessment the one has to look at the soldiers as a whole, meaning times and conditions of service, and not the one aspect that favors your argument.

So to recap we look to the bible for the definition of evil because it is in the context (Judgment of the God of the bible) that we use it. We use modern dictionaries to further break down the definition to clarify the biblical definition so people like you can not rely on the loop holes you think you have found in the biblical account.